Texas A&M is squaring off with Kentucky this weekend as sizeable favorites within the friendly confines of Kyle Field as their third-straight home game to open the season. After this week, though, the Aggies have a date with destiny in the way of a night game in Baton Rouge as their initial road game of the season.
Lane Kiffin's Tigers are riding high right now heading into their very own big time matchup against Ole Miss this weekend in what is one of the most storyline-packed games of the entire season. There will certainly be something of an emotional letdown for the Tigers following that game, though not too much, as they have their own score to settle with the Aggies from last season.
That won't detract, however, from the raucous environment awaiting Kiffin and company in Oxford— and in College Station, meanwhile, the Aggies will be getting something of a preview of the way that LSU may stack up against them when the time comes.
Kentucky will give Aggie fans a preview of how A&M can defend LSU
While Will Stein and Kenny Dillingham are far closer in style than are Stein and Kiffin, the personnel that the Aggies are looking at from the Wildcats is much more similar to what they'll be seeing out of the Tigers. And, for whatever it's worth, while Kiffin has his very own twist on the RPO game, that is what his offense is built around at the end of the day— just like Stein.
The Wildcats bring in a receiving corps that currently features three out of their four leading receivers as tight ends, with freshman Kenny Darby as the only WR in that top group. LSU's leading threat as a pass-catcher is clearly TE Trey'Dez Green, who is a completely different player than anything Kentucky has, in fairness, but will be utilized similarly to what the Wildcats will do.
The bread and butter for Kentucky this year is a physical run game, highlighted by Ohio State and Tennessee transfers on the offensive line, as well as former five-star Cedric Baxter, the Texas transfer, at running back. That run game is bolstered by the athleticism of Notre Dame QB transfer Kenny Minchey, who can use his legs to great effect when the moment calls for it.
This mirrors what the Aggies will be seeing from LSU's Sam Leavitt at QB and Dilin Jones at RB, transfers from Arizona State and Wisconsin, respectively— not to mention that LSU shelled out to get a high-level tackle themselves in Jordan Seaton. While the Tigers have racked up more passing yardage than running yardage, they have run the ball more than they've passed it (101 rush plays to 77 passes); they've simply hit it big on more pass than run plays.
In many ways, then, what the Aggies prepare for with Kentucky this weekend will be an opening act to what they see out of the Tigers on September 26. Mike Elko will obviously tailor the defensive game plan to what Kiffin will roll out against them on that Saturday night, but if nothing else, they will at least not have to deal with the whiplash of a complete style change ahead of this pivotal game.
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